Dennis Dixon is heading North!: Baxter State Park (Maine): Traveler Loop

Thursday, July 15 / Friday, July 16, 2021 - Wendy and Ellie have gone for theatre and an overnight in Falmouth. Although the weather in the Appalachians is supposed to be rainy (i.e. clouds up high), there is only a 38% chance of rain in Baxter State Park. So I'm going to head up there again! On Tuesday I spoke to their reservation office, and the woman said that reservations have been running 40% AHEAD OF 2019's PACE, so GOOD LUCK getting a campsite. I went on-line, and there were still 2 spaces available up at South Branch Pond Campground for Thursday night - so I booked one! I figured out 3 Art Museums I can see on the way, and headed north after my Breakfast in Boston:

After a few errands on the North Shore, I went north on I-95. I reached Bowdoin College Museum of Art a little after 1 PM:

Unfortunately, I was not impressed with what they had on display - the highlights were:

Martin Johnson Heade - "Newburyport Marshes: Passing Storm, ca. 1865-1870":

Louis Rémy Mignot - "Vespers, Guayaquil River, Ecuador, ca. 1862":

They had a couple of other nice pieces, but the bulk of their collection was in storage somewhere.

Time to head up the road to Waterville, Maine - WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY:

Got to Colby College and their Museum of Art at 2:30

They have a WONDERFUL collection, with a great deal of it on-display! I won't repeat past blogs, so Highlights this time include:

Sanford Robinson Gifford - "A Study of Morning on Haverstraw Bay, Hudson River", 1866:

Asher B. Durand - "Catskill Mountains Near Shandaken", c. 1853:

Alfred Thompson Bricher - "Hudson Valley from Catskill Clove", 1861:

Maya Lin - "Disappearing Bodies of Water: Arctic Ice", 2013:

I really like Maya Lin's work; when you start your career with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., you better take it nice-and-easy-and-professional for the rest of your life. Aside from this piece at Colby, I have seen her work in 3 other places [Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA (3/11/2015), Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (10/10/2015), The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (10/8/2016)]. This piece is part of her "Disappearing Bodies of Water" series (I'll have to track down the others!) - it shows the shrinkage of the Arctic Ice Shelf over the past decades. Pretty Cool.

I then headed north to a disappointing trip to the University of Maine Zillman Art Museum in Bangor:

ok - not fair. This floor was being renovated. On the floor below there was an entertaining exhibition "Pop Art and Influence", with a nice piece by Andy Warhol - "Details of Renaissance Paintings (Sandro Botticelli, "Birth of Venus", 1482)", 1984 screenprint:

I left there and picked up my pizza and drove NORTH. An hour later I had finished my pizza, was still on 95 North, and was still over an hour from the Park Entrance. Got to the Pond at 7:45, briefed by the Ranger about my hike, then down to the Pond for nice evening views:

Set-up my tent:

and bed at 8:15 Thank you God for this wonderful art-and-driving adventure day!

Today's driving music:

Stephen Stills - Stephen Stills, 1970 first solo album:

With Jimi Hendrix on "Old Times, Good Times", and Eric Clapton on "Go Back Home", this album certainly deserves a listen.

Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega, 1985 debut album:

Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends, 1969 debut album:

Shania Twain - Come On Over, 1997 third album:

As of 2020, "Come On Over" has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.

Sly and The Family Stone - Greatest Hits, 1970:

Rod Stewart - Downtown Train: Selections From The Storyteller Anthology, 1990:

R.E.M. - Live At The Olympia In Dublin (39 songs), recorded 2007, released 2009:

Regina Spektor - Far, 2009:

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Friday, July 16, 2021 HIKING - I have made an interactive map of hikes that have been mentioned in Backpacker Magazine [click here for the map], and they mention "Travelers Loop" on the north side of Baxter State Park:

Since I did the left-butterfly-wing on Monday, I'll do the right-butterfly-wing today (the "offical" Travelers Loop).

A nice early-morning shot at 5:38

and signed into the Trail Register at 6:09

A half-hour later I was going up alongside Howe Brook:

10 minutes later - an early-morning view of Upper South Branch Pond:

And then it was time to go up Center Ridge Trail:

Um, I think they are stretching by using the word "Trail":

At least they use white blazes so you can follow "the trail".

First panorama view at 7:30

but then you turn around and realize you still have a while to go to get to your first summit:

I call this picture "Fun With Gloves":

I reached Peak-of-the-Ridges at 8:46

There is a wonderful little ridge ("Little Knife Edge") that you get to hike along - keep your eyes out for the blazes and cairns:

It is 1.4 miles from Peak-of-the-Ridges to The Traveler, and you go through forest:

and across scree fields:

My compliments to the Trail Crew - there are not-one, not-two, but three ways to navigate: cairns, blazes, and what looks like "new rock" that was put down (the tan/light-brown rocks). I used all 3 methods today, and it was pretty cool.

This looks back after crossing the scree field:

Up at The Traveler at 9:45

Going northeast off the back of The Traveler - once again, keep your eyes on the cairns:

The Ranger said that thunderstorms were supposed to come in today, and that there is no "bail-out" up there on the exposed ridge. I did get 5 minutes of soft summer rain, but no thunder - and I was down in the forests following blue blazes at least one-third of the time:

An hour after The Traveler (and still about a mile from North Traveler), looking back at The Traveler:

And looking north at Bald Mountain and the lakes of northern Maine:

At 11:25 I reached North Traveler:

I sure have come a long way today:

And I still have a long way to go:

So, I'm going down the trail, and I figured it was a nice easy shot back down the mountain. So then I came to this sort-of-cliff, with a HUGE VIEW of the Pond and Camp, and I realize it is going to be a pretty tricky climb down to get back to the camp:

Well, I did get down! Signed the register, and back at my car at 12:52 = 11.02 miles in 6 hours 48 minutes. Today is in red, yellow is last Monday:

Bathing suit on for a quick dip in The Pond - on my way down, the Ranger said "Good job, Mr. Dixon". And then time to drive home. (I took a half-hour nap before leaving The Park) Going down 95 South in Maine, you go over about a dozen BEAUTIFUL rivers/streams/brooks - I wish I could stop and take pictures of all of them!:

Home at 10 PM - Thank you God for this Wonderful Adventure - I like Maine!

Hiking music today:

Miles Davis - Miles Ahead, 1957:

Roger Waters - The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, 1984:

With Eric Clapton on lead guitar, this album definitely needs a listen.

Grateful Dead - Europe '72 Vol. 2 (2 cds), live album recorded 1972, released 2011: